CTL eNewsletter: March 2017

Nutritious, versatile, and delicious; winter squash has long been a staple in the diets of many. The hearty vegetable is the perfect ingredient for a variety of dishes including soups, stews, and pastas. Now, thanks to breeders at Cornell University and Seeds by Design, Inc., we have two new winter squash varieties to use in our recipes!

The first variety, known as Squash ‘Honeybaby’ F1, is derived from Cornell innovations. Characterized by its orange color and light bulb shape, the ‘Honeybaby’ fruit offers a sweet and nutty taste. It ranges in size from 6-7 inches and weighs anywhere from .25-.50 pounds.

In order to grow this variety, warm soil temperatures of 65 degrees or more are necessary. The plant, which grows 2-3 foot vines, should also be positioned in a sunny location with 10-inch spacing. After 90-100 days, the plant will reach maturation and produce the fruits ready for baking or cooking.

Another descendent of Cornell innovations, the second new variety is referred to as Squash ‘Sugaretti’ F1. Identified by green and white striped color, the ‘Sugaretti’ fruit comes in the shape of a 9-10 in. elongated oval. When you open the fruit up, inside you will find a bright orange flesh that offers a nutty, sweet taste that some describe as reminiscent of a sweet potato.

Beyond just the delightful taste of its fruit, the ‘Sugaretti’ plant produces slightly earlier than similar varieties and in sizeable (6-7 per plant) quantities. Additionally, it boasts a good disease resistance to powdery mildew and is crack resistant.

It is no wonder why these two new varieties have been recognized as 2017 Edible Regional Winners by All-America Selections; the only trialing organization for plants that demonstrate great garden performance throughout North America. To receive this prestigious award, ‘Honeybaby’ and ‘Sugaretti’ underwent trials by professional, independent judges for one growing season alongside best-in-class, similar varieties currently on the market.

Bactana Animal Health

It is no secret that the world’s population is growing at a rapid rate, with projections to reach over 9 billion by year 2050. Faced with this reality, food production companies and the farming industry must find ways to meet the demands and feed the world, while simultaneously minimizing the environmental footprint. Livestock producers, especially, are being called upon to produce more with fewer resources. To rise to this challenge, methods to improve the feed efficiency of animals are of particular interest in the field.

One group focusing on new approaches in the space is Bactana Animal Health’s research team. They are developing a naturally occurring collection of "super-probiotic" strains of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, known as FPS-4™, for use in food producing animals. In a publication by Cornell University researchers of a randomized controlled clinical trial that studied 554 dairy calves (Foditsch et al., 2015), animals administered FPS-4 demonstrated a 13.2% increase in weight gain, a 46% reduction of scours (a devastating digestive disease that affects as many as 23% of all dairy calves), and a 66% reduction in diarrhea-related fatalities. Calves administered FPS-4 also produced significantly more milk during first lactation compared to control animals.

FPS-4 will allow food producers to use this new “super-probiotic” to enhance the gut microbiota of livestock. Administering the probiotics during infancy will help improve weight gain, stimulate gut health, and contribute to the overall health of the animal and hence productivity, thereby helping to meet society’s increasing demand for animal food products.

Bactana Animal Health, co-founded by Professor Rodrigo Bicalho and Cornell Johnson School alumnus, John A. Kallassy has exclusively licensed the technology related to Faecalibacterium prausnitzii from The Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) for commercial development.

For more information about Cornell startup, Bactana Animal Health, and their commitment to enhancing the lives of animals while improving production animal farming, please visit bactana.com.

CTL is also pleased to announce Bactana will speak about their work during the Innovations in Food Systems: Feeding a Growing World – CTL Partnership Forum in June 2017. Reserve your seat today!

To stay up to date on all Cornell technologies and startups, follow CTL on Twitter and Facebook.

Imagine that you have been diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). You’ve spent a considerable amount of time discussing what that means, what kind of impact it will have, and what treatment options are available. You and your healthcare provider have seriously weighed the pros and cons, and have made the decision that a kidney transplant is the best approach to take.

Once you’ve chosen the transplant route, there are a few possibilities. You may have a family member or friend who is willing and able to donate a kidney to you, called a living donor, or you may be placed on a waiting list to receive the organ from a deceased donor. With either option, there are many factors that must be taken into consideration before a surgery can occur.

The doctors and surgeons guiding you through the transplant process must ensure that a match for you is available. In order to make that determination, they examine the blood type of both you and your donor to confirm compatibility. Additionally, they also must conduct tissue type testing for human leukocyte antigens (HLA). And lastly, your healthcare team will also measure your panel reactive antibodies (PRA) to evaluate how your body may respond to a transplant. All of these steps are necessary to ensure as close match between the donor’s kidney and you in order to maximize the success of your transplant. However, despite all these matchmaking efforts, 40 to 50% of all kidney transplants fail within ten years.

Researchers in the Campagne Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine dedicated to developing computational methods and tools for biomedicine have developed a robust translational research program to improve the survival of kidney transplants. One of their most recent projects, in collaboration with researchers from Sorbonne University in Paris and Northwestern University in Chicago is addressing the prediction of long-term outcome of kidney transplants. They have crafted an approach to predict the compatibility between the genome of an organ donor and potential transplant recipient through the use of Allogenomics Mismatch Scores.

The study, which was published in the September 2016 edition of PLOS Computational Biology, showed that this new method aids to predict long-term kidney transplant function three years post-surgery. By performing exome sequencing of DNA from living donors and kidney recipients to identify amino acid mismatches in cell surface, Drs. Campagne, Muthukumar, Suthanthiran et al. have successfully developed a scoring method to optimize donor/recipient matches.

This new approach offers a new way to more comprehensively match kidney donors and recipients and to ensure a more favorable long term transplant outcome. The researchers involved in this project believe there may be a profound impact for not only kidney transplants but potentially extending to other organ transplants as well.

For more information on this and other WCM technologies available for licensing, please contact Dan Antson, Technology Licensing Officer, via da429@cornell.edu.

Upcoming Events

Join the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) for an informative and interactive session that will explore the inventor’s role within the technology transfer process. Our experienced Technology Licensing Officers will share tips and suggestions to make the most of CTL services and how you can help us, help you.

You are invited to bring questions to ask the CTL team!

Learn more about:

What to be mindful of in your research regarding intellectual property

The Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) will be hosting a showcase featuring emerging technologies and new business opportunities from the Ithaca campus, New York
State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, Cornell Tech in New York City, and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. Researchers, business representatives,
and Technology Licensing Officers will be present to discuss the technologies and companies. Learn more about Cornell technologies and companies in the areas of:

Drug Delivery

Gene Therapy

Fruit Breeding

Animal Health

Energy Storage

The Showcase will also feature live demonstrations of select Cornell technologies including soft robotics, thermoregulatory clothing, a low power vibration sensor,
and a headset for tracking EEG activity. Goose Watch Winery will also offer tastings of wines created from Cornell varietals.

The CTL Partnership Forum entitled "Innovations in Food Systems: Feeding a Growing World" will bring together leaders from industry, the
investment community, and academia to explore current topics and trends in agriculture to meet the challenges of feeding 9 billion. Join us to explore
key topics including:

Attendees joined the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) to learn about the basics of Intellectual Property, the technology commercialization process, and how the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) supports you.

Attendees joined the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) for an informative and interactive session that explored the inventor’s role within the technology transfer process. Our experienced Technology Licensing Officers shared tips and suggestions to make the most of CTL services and how you can help us, help you.

Attendees learned more about:

What to be mindful of in your research regarding intellectual property

Attendees joined the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL), industrial colleagues, thought leaders, researchers, aligned investors and start-up companies to explore challenges and opportunities to
enable the next generation of smart, secure sensors that will fuel a 10-fold increase of data on the internet. Attendees heard the latest thinking around which underlying technologies, MEMS 2.0 or
Silicon Photonics, are best positioned to scale into this new market, and connected with faculty building deep technical and scientific expertise in the space.

Attendees joined the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) for a three-part series exploring the current challenges surrounding intellectual property for algorithms, drug targets and software.
Technology Licensing Officer, Vibhu Sachdev, presented landmark cases in each area and facilitated discussion on how to carve new paths in today’s patenting landscape.

Join the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) for an informative and interactive session that will explore the inventor’s role within the technology transfer process. Our experienced Technology
Licensing Officers will share tips and suggestions to make the most of CTL services and how you can help us, help you.
Attendees learned more about:

What to be mindful of in your research regarding intellectual property